“I’m sure he did.”
“It’s a beautiful dress,” Lucy said sincerely, since humor didn’t seem to be working at softening Raina up. “You have excellent taste.” Lucy looked up to find Raina scowling, clearly annoyed by the compliment. “Why do I get the feeling you don’t like me very much?”
Raina blinked in surprise, then pressed her lips together. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Sure you do. You’re going to get a crick in your neck if you look any farther down your nose at me. Now, don’t get me wrong, I can understand your being annoyed that Dex sent you to be my personal shopper—that would annoy anyone.” She cocked her head to the side, studying the other woman, trying to see beyond the cool haughtiness. “But this is more than that. You really don’t like me.”
“Well, if you must know, Jewel…” Raina put a little sneer into the word Jewel “…Dex may not remember your stint working at Messina Diamonds, but I do.”
“Oh.” Lucy bit down on her lip, trying to hide her distress. She’d been so focused on convincing Dex she was the woman he’d slept with, she’d completely forgotten that Jewel worked for Messina Diamonds at one point. It had never occurred to her she might have to convince anyone else she was Jewel. Having a fellow employee pop up who remembered Jewel from her days there was completely unexpected.
Lucy fought the urge to defend her sister. What could she possibly say, when she had no idea what history this woman shared with Jewel?
Since Raina obviously expected some kind of response, Lucy shrugged and went for something vague. “I guess I wasn’t an ideal employee.”
“You guess? Dressing inappropriately, flirting outrageously. Constantly throwing yourself at—”
But Raina stopped herself. Again her cheeks flushed and her gaze darted away from Lucy’s. Apparently, she’d said far more than she’d intended.
Suddenly, Raina’s attitude began to make sense. Her voice had been laced with scorn, but Lucy could tell it hid a deeper, darker emotion. Jealousy.
And this, she realized, was what it was actually like to be Jewel. Jewel’s sexuality had always been her greatest strength and her greatest weakness. She used it to lure men in and keep women at arm’s length.
“Ah. So you don’t like me because I was always throwing myself at Dex?”
“Not Dex. Derek.” Raina frowned at Lucy’s slipup, but then continued fiercely, “But Derek would never sleep with an employee.”
Derek? Jewel had been throwing herself at Derek?
Lucy recovered quickly. “Which is why I threw myself at Dex. That’s what I meant.”
The twisted machinations of Jewel’s love life were becoming more and more…well, twisted. And yet, somehow, it all made sense. Jewel had a long history of developing crushes on unattainable men. After all, a skilled hunter isn’t satisfied hunting deer. Sooner or later, she’ll give in to the lure of big game.
Derek must have posed quite the challenge. Undoubtedly, the more he’d resisted, the more determined Jewel had become. She’d probably thrown herself at him the whole time she’d worked at Messina Diamonds. When he hadn’t nibbled, she’d set her cap on Dex instead.
And all the while, there was poor Raina, who obviously cared about Derek, though she was doing an admirable job of hiding it. But Lucy knew the signs well. The jealousy, the fierce protectiveness, the way her voice thickened when she said his name.
Well, if Jewel had a long history of manipulating men, Lucy had an equally long history of smoothing over her sister’s mistakes.
“Raina, I’m sorry.” Since the other woman was standing only a short distance away, Lucy reached for Raina’s arm. “I didn’t know you were in love with him.”
Raina jerked away. “I’m not in love with him.”
But the vehemence of her response and the heightened color in her cheeks proved her a liar.
And Lucy knew all too well what it felt like to have someone she was interested in lured away by her sister’s innate sensual appeal.
“If it makes you feel any better,” Lucy pointed out, “he didn’t sleep with me, either. Derek really wouldn’t sleep with an employee.”
“Really?” A glimmer of something like hope flashed in Raina’s eyes, but there was caution there as well.
Lucy certainly couldn’t blame Raina for not trusting a gesture of friendship from someone like Jewel. However, she felt too much kinship with Raina to not try. After all, how many times in her own life had men overlooked her because she lacked Jewel’s overt sensuality? How many broken hearts had she nursed while watching her sister ride off in the front seat with some guy Lucy had secretly had a crush on?
Too many. She knew all too well that it was no fun.
And in some weird way, wasn’t that what was happening all over again? Here she was, well on the way to losing her heart to Dex and the only reason he even knew she existed was because he thought she was Jewel.
She was as much a victim of Jewel’s power over men as Raina was. Besides, she could certainly use a friend tonight at this gala event she’d been ordered to attend. That alone was reason enough to extend the olive branch again.
“Can I assume you’re going to this reception, too?” she asked Raina, who nodded. “Well, it certainly wasn’t very nice of him to send you here to do his dirty work when you probably need to be getting ready, also.”
Raina shrugged in a gesture of beleaguered resignation. “I’m Derek’s go-to girl. And sometimes Dex’s by proximity. I do what they need me to do.”
“Gawd, I hope they pay you bundles to do it.”
Finally, a smile cracked through Raina’s icy facade. “Well, at least there’s that.”
Lucy laughed as inspiration struck. “Look, if Dex is footing the bill for this spa afternoon thing, why don’t you come with me? I’d be thrilled to have someone tackle this mess I’ve made of my hair…” The garish red favored by Jewel gave her a fright every time she looked in the mirror. “But I certainly don’t need a manicure or a pedicure. It’ll be a girl’s afternoon out.”
In the end, they both got their nails done. The few occasions when Lucy had had a manicure and pedicure, she’d just gone to the Walk-Ins Welcome nail salon in the strip mall near her condo. She’d never been to a full-service day spa before. Between the soft classical music, the dimmed lights, the massage chair and the fragrant herbal tea, it was all Lucy could do not to fall asleep while getting her hair dyed.Four hours later, she emerged from the cocoon of the salon like a pampered and rested butterfly. Two hours after that, she found herself swathed in shimmering teal silk, seated next to Raina in the back of the limo Dex had sent to pick her up, grateful she wasn’t having to navigate the downtown Dallas traffic.
Raina, who’d been thawing all afternoon, looked at her appraisingly. “You look good with that hair color.”
“I do?” Remarkably, the hairdresser had picked a shade very close to her own natural brown. He’d added a few auburn highlights and trimmed up the shaggy bob, which had left Lucy feeling less like a pale imitation of Jewel and rather like a slightly more glamorous version of herself. She smiled. “Maybe I’ll keep it like this.”
“You should.” And then Raina hesitated, biting her lip before adding, “You’re not at all like I thought you were.”
“Yeah. I’m getting that a lot lately,” she muttered wryly. When Raina raised her eyebrows in question, Lucy added, “I guess becoming a mom has really changed me.”
“I can see that. I’m the oldest of five. Dealing with the little ones either makes you crazy or makes you a better person. Usually both.”
Lucy chuckled, but it felt forced. She really liked Raina and, in the end, she was yet another person Lucy was lying to. Imagining how Raina would respond when she found out the truth—as she inevitably would—made Lucy squirm. More lies. More deception. And it was getting harder and harder to tell herself her motives were pure.
Luckily, she was saved from having to come up with an answer as the limo pulled to a halt in front of the towering building that housed Messina Diamonds. Even though she’d lived in Dallas for most of her life, she’d never really been downtown at night. Downtown Dallas wasn’t alive at night like Chicago or Manhattan. The streets were well lit, but empty of pedestrians. There was road traffic, but no crowds spilling out from restaurants or bars. However, this swath of downtown was aglow. Cars lined up before the building, elegantly dressed men and women stepping from limos like glitterati.
Lucy double-checked to make sure she had her evening clutch before climbing out of the limo. That morning, she’d dropped by the jewelry store to have Dex’s ring cleaned. She hadn’t felt comfortable leaving the ring at the house, so she’d been carrying it around in its velvet jewelry box until she could give it back to Dex.
By the time they made it up to the Messina Diamonds offices on the fifteenth floor, Lucy was feeling decidedly outclassed, even in her stunning teal gown. She’d never even ridden in a limo before tonight, let alone attended a gala event. For her, a big night out was getting popcorn at the movies. She didn’t belong in this elevator full of sparkling, laughing people. What could she possibly have in common with any of them? As the elevator doors opened, Raina placed a hand on Lucy’s arm.
“Take a deep breath,” Raina murmured. “It’ll help you calm down.”
“That obvious, huh?”
“You look ready to pass out.”
“Ah, but the question is—” Lucy smoothed her hands down over her h*ps as she spoke “—does peaked go with formal wear?”
Raina chuckled under her breath. “Just remember, no one here is any better than you, no matter how they may act. Besides, you’re the only woman here tonight personally invited by Dex.”
“Invited? Ordered was more like it,” Lucy grumbled.